'No Way To Explain' Thomas' Call, Anita Hill's Former Lawyer Says : The Two-WayThe unlikely resurfacing of the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill story has perhaps surprised no one more than the man who represented Hill back in 1991.

'No Way To Explain' Thomas' Call, Anita Hill's Former Lawyer Says

The unlikely resurfacing of the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill story has perhaps surprised no one more than the man who represented Hill back in 1991. In fact, Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree says he's been "shocked" by the turn of events.

"There's no way to explain it as a thoughtful, rational step by anyone to take," says Ogletree, describing the call Virginia Thomas made to Hill seeking an apology for her husband — whose nomination to the Supreme Court was nearly destroyed by Hill's allegations of sexual harassment.

Oct. 13, 1991: Charles Ogletree speaks to reporters in the Russell Senate Office Building, after reporting that his client, Anita Hill, passed a lie detector test about her statements that she was sexually harassed by Clarence Thomas.
John Duricka/AP
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John Duricka/AP

Speaking today with NPR's Michel Martin, Ogletree said that Hill called him after receiving the message from Thomas — and he advised her to call the authorities, thinking that it could only be a prank.

Ogletree also described what he's seen of Hill's life in the 19 years since she testified on Capitol Hill:

It's been a living nightmare for professor Anita Hill. She has turned her life around, written a couple of books, teaching here at Brandeis, minding her own business, and to get this sort of call out of the blue is just beyond imagination.

Here's the full audio of Ogletree discussing the episode with Martin and Slate senior legal correspondent Dalia Lithwick: